


Jail, Deer Stew, and a Heart-to-Heart

by Diary



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gay Armitage Hux, Han Solo Cooks, Late Night Conversations, Minor Armitage Hux/Ben Solo, Minor Leia Organa/Han Solo, POV Han Solo, Queer Ben Solo, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: AU. “Ben, honey, let’s not discuss how you’d kill your guest via food allergies while dinner’s being prepared.” Complete.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Jail, Deer Stew, and a Heart-to-Heart

Pulling into the police station parking lot, Han Solo isn’t sure this isn’t some elaborate joke.

It’s not that he can’t see his boy ever getting arrested. God knows Ben shares Leia’s love of politics, if not most of her political positions. But for _this_?

Going inside, however, it quickly becomes clear, yes, Ben was arrested, and when he’s led to the cell, one look at his son’s face tells him-

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Ben repeats.

“You couldn’t afford a hotel room?”

At Ben’s sigh, he wonders if that was too far the wrong thing to say.

“I blew a 0.0, but we’d been celebrating. 0.6.”

The cell door’s opened. “Okay. Where’s the woman in question?”

Something in him goes cold when Ben _winces_.

“Hey, kiddo.” He pulls Ben over to him. “Did something else-”

“It wasn’t a woman.” Ben tries to get out of his grasp.

Tightening his hold, he says, “Well, then, you owe your uncle ten bucks.”

His body relaxing, Ben looks at him in shock.

“Come on, kid. You think your mom and I haven’t wondered? Is this a boyfriend or-”

“No,” is the quick response. “I- don’t exactly like him. But I sort of- um, ended up in the same bar as him on his birthday. I thought I’d be nice and be his ride home, only-” Ben sighs again. “Not liking him doesn’t mean there hasn’t been something there. Brewing.”

Oh, you poor kid, goes through his head. You’re just like me and your mama both.

“Okay. Well, I’m pretty sure your mom would say we need to bail him out, too.”

Looking absolutely mutinous, Ben nevertheless agrees, “Yeah, alright.”

…

He’s less surprised to see a redhead than he would have thought he’d be.

“Hey, Hux,” Ben says. “This is my dad. Just shut up, and let us bail you out.”

Hux is about Ben’s height, slim, blue-eyed, and freckled-face with an expression that makes it clear his freckles aren’t any indication of a soft or joyous personality. Rumpled suit suggests he went to the bar almost immediately after work.

“You told your father about this,” Hux demands in what’s probably an English or Irish accent. Maybe Scottish.

“No, I didn’t. The grandmother of one of the cops here plays shuffle with my granddad, and when she saw it was me, she called.”

Before he can fully process this, Ben gives him a look. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Please, excuse my manners, Mr Solo.”

“No problem,” he says. “Call me Han. You can stay the night at my house, and someone will drop you off at wherever you need to be in the morning.”

Hux looks at Ben.

“Might as well. I’m going to have to go there, too.”

Squeezing Ben’s shoulder, he cheerfully agrees, “That’s right.”

The cell’s opened, and Hux offers his hand. “Armitage Hux.”

He shakes it. “Nice to meet you. Oh, and happy birthday.”

…

When they get out to the car, he gives Ben a look when Ben starts to open the passenger seat door.

Since Ben was little there’s been a rule that, if a guest is riding along, they get an offer of the front seat. Whether they accept it or not, in a case like this, the non-driving family member takes the backseat.

He’s pretty sure his son implemented the rule, actually.

When Ben gets into the backseat with a glare, he decides not to push further. Hux has already gotten buckled up anyways.

“So, Hux, what do you do?”

“He’s a soulless merchant of death,” Ben answers.

“Tell me, what’s your office’s conviction rate for black men committing victimless crimes and mentally ill people, again,” Hux snipes back. Then, meeting his eyes in the mirror, Hux continues, “Sorry, Mr Solo. I’m a financial auditor for the army.”

“Basically, he helps them find more money than the ungodly amount they’re already allocated. And my office has been trying to implement a more rehabilitative-”

“Sending more people to private prisons-”

“The increase rate-”

He guesses his son now has problems with the military, never mind the three month cold war between Ben and Leia after the Iraq war started that he still maintains he was the biggest victim of. For all the definition of ‘patriotism’ was hotly debated, the one thing they did agree on was: They both had more patriotism than he did.

There’s a pang at the realisation he really needs to try to talk to Ben more and about more than the usual hi-how-are-you chats they usually have.

…

Leia’s there when they get home. “Ben, baby? Oh, are you okay?”

Trying to catch her hands, Ben responds, “I’m fine, Mom. What-”

“Don’t start. Of course, I was going to come as soon as your dad called. What happened?”

“This,” he jumps in, “is Hux. Armitage Hux. He’s not Ben’s boyfriend, but they were caught in the backseat of Ben’s car together.”

“Dad!”

Looking at Hux with appraising eyes, Leia smiles. “Well, then, you owe your uncle ten dollars, honey.”

“I’m not paying anyone to make up the difference for lost bets regarding my sexual orientation!”

Glancing at Leia, she nods, and they both focus their eyes on him.

Ben sighs. “Which I don’t know for sure. I don’t think I’m gay, but uh, definitely not straight, either.”

“Hux, are you hungry? Han can whip up something real quick.”

“No, thank you, Ms Organa.”

Heading towards the kitchen, Ben calls, “He’s an absurdly picky eater.”

“I certainly didn’t ask to be plagued with so many allergies!”

Winking at Leia, he pulls her against him. “Hey,” he quietly says.

“Hey.” She kisses him. “He’s alright?”

“Fine. We’ll get his car from the tow yard in the morning.”

Ben reappears with a jar of peanut butter, an apple, and a plate and knife. “Here. Have some apple with your peanut butter.”

“I do not-” Hux follows when Ben starts to leave, and he and Leia follow the two into the kitchen. “You know I’m not going to-” Ben hands him a spoon. “Just because I appreciate a nice, thick spread doesn’t mean…”

Seeing the amount of peanut butter Hux has scooped out onto a plate, admittedly, his boy’s sarcasm wasn’t exactly unwarranted.

“Hux is lactose intolerant, can’t have gluten, and is allergic to eggs. Also, penicillin.” Ben gives Hux a look that makes it clear he’s not sure how Hux is even still alive.

“And latex?” Leia inquires.

He’ll give Hux this: The man didn’t even blink.

“Mother!” Huffing, Ben sits down. “Yes, we were going to use protection. It hadn’t, uh- gotten to that point yet when the cops showed up.”

“Good. Buddy, why don’t you help me make something for your mom?” Wracking his brain, he tries to think what-

“Some deer stew sounds lovely.”

“Yeah, that might work. Hux, you allergic to carrots or potatoes? Is almond milk okay?”

“Yes. I mean, yes, that’s fine, but you don’t need to go-”

“We already have almond milk here,” Ben says. “My dad likes to cook. He’s always prepared.”

“Yep,” he agrees. “So, carrots and potatoes?”

“They’re both fine, Mr Solo.”

“Feel free to call us Han and Leia,” Leia offers. “What do you do?”

Telling her, Hux adds, “Ben’s told me- I’ve heard about your new legal aide clinic, Ms Organa, and I’d like to express my appreciation for what you’re doing. My father wasn’t a good man, and if I could have found someone to help me try for emancipation, things might have been much better for me.”

“Yeah, in that instance, it’s too bad we didn’t meet sooner,” Ben says.

“I suppose you killing me or me going away for your murder would have changed things.”

“I could literally grab a carton of eggs from the fridge, throw one or two at you, and you’d be down.”

“Ben, honey, let’s not discuss how you’d kill your guest via food allergies while dinner’s being prepared.”

After he gets the stew made, they manage to get Hux to have some.

“Thanks for dinner, Dad,” Ben says. “Mom, if you don’t need anything, I’m going to go to bed.”

“Of course not, darling.” Leia kisses his cheek. “Will Hux be joining-”

“No,” is the simultaneous reply.

“I’ll get the guest room set up, then,” he says.

…

Climbing into bed, he stretches out. “Think you’ll be able to get him out of this okay?”

Looking over from her book, she gives a light scoff. “Of course. They’re both consenting adults. Hux wasn’t intoxicated enough to be incapacitated, and even though they really should have gone to a hotel-”

“I already asked, and I don’t think a lack of money was in play.”

“Good. Even though they should of done that, they were in a largely secluded place. No schools, daycares, or parks nearby.”

He lets himself sigh in relief.

Giving him a warm smile, she kisses him. “Interesting man, that Hux.”

“I’ll give him this: If he and Ben can refrain from attempted murder, he might be someone we want to invite over someday.”

For all Hux looks at his son as if Ben’s crazy, they seem to be okay in Hux’s eyes.

Ben has a tendency to date people who can’t tolerate him and Leia for long, and it’s not as if Ben doesn’t look at Hux in the exact same way.

Setting her book aside and taking her glasses off, she motions for him to turn off the light.

He does, and as always, a jolt of warm _I’m the luckiest man alive_ goes through him when she curls up against him. “Night, you scoundrel.” She kisses him.

“Night, princess.”

…

Breakfast consists of Ben and Hux arguing, and then, they bicker all the way to Hux’s apartment.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Ben says.

“Yeah, alright.” Hux rolls his eyes with a sigh, and then, he says more politely, “Thank you again, Mr Solo.”

Once he’s gone inside, they head to the towing yard.

“He, uh-”

“Don’t, Dad. For all we enjoy a passionate debate, we’d literally kill one another if we tried to have a relationship.”

“Well, I don’t know. Look at your mom and me.”

“He listens to _whale sounds_ at night.”

He really doesn’t mean to take any sides, but he feels compelled to point out, “And you listen to some Russian audiobook.”

“Whale sounds, Dad,” and for a moment, teenage Ben is sitting in the car. “How does- normal people would get seasick. Dreams, nightmares, of drowning. Not to mention, I question how ethically captured those sounds even are.”

At the towing yard, he stops Ben from getting out. “Uh, Ben, look. I know you’re an adult. Some part of you is always going to be my boy, but you’re an adult. And I just want you to know, I’m proud of you. The man you are. And I love you.”

Ben gives him a soft look, probably one softer than he and Leia have ever been able to produce. “I know, Dad. Thanks. I love you, too.”

Nodding, he gives a small squeeze, and they get out.


End file.
